How did photography impact the communication history?

Photography had an enormous impact on communication. Words can be very descriptive and poetic. Drawings and art can relate a certain kind of visual understanding. Nothing comes as close to seeing the real thing as a photograph. It's truly the next best thing to being there.

Photography has enabled communicators to share pictures of individuals, places, and even events so that the audience can become closer to the material. The audience becomes even more involved with the information being revealed. In fact, photography was proof that events even took place. The Stephen Glass controversy could have been solved if they just required a photograph or two.

I know that my mother would pull out a photo album to show me a picture of a distant relative when telling me a story of that person. That picture would help me visualize the story better. I had a better understanding and "lived" the story as it was communicated to me.

Without photography, what would have happened to the news? If Americans didn't see pictures of the World Wars in the Newspaper would we be more aggressive or less aggressive? Can words really describe the horrors of war or the beauty of places like the tropical rainforests in the world?

Visual communication is just as important as written or oral communication. Each can help sustain the other, but none can substitute for all of them.